Chelsea great striker Drogba formally retires from football

Ivory Coast and Chelsea great striker, Didier Drogba has formally announced his retirement from football after a 20-year career.

The 40-year-old scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Champions League, while he is also Ivory Coast’s all-time record goalscorer with 65.

Drogba most recently played for Phoenix Rising in the United Soccer League. He also partly owns the club.

“I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

“If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into a reality.”

Drogba played club football in six different countries in total, with the majority of his success coming in France and England.

He won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2006-07 and 2009-10, netting 104 times in the English top flight in total, and also scored a dramatic late equaliser when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the Champions League final six years ago.

Drogba’s last game was Phoenix’s 1-0 loss to Louisville City in the USL Cup final on November 8. Reports then said it was his last football game.